Self-sealing pipe coupling



pri 13, 1948. P. E. THOMAS I SELF-SEALING PIPE COUPLING Filed Hay 3l, 1945 ,m m M f .m

Patented Apr. 13, 1948 SELF-SEALING PIPE COUPLING Percival Edward Thoma-Worcester Park, Eng- K land,l asslgnor to Sterling Industries Limited,

London,

Application May 31, 1945, In Great Britain Juize 12, 1944 England, a British company serial No. 596,857.

A 1 claim. (ci. 284-19) ri'his invention relates to sell sealing pipe couplings and has particular, although not exclusive, reference to couplings for mission and control pipe lines and circuits.

The object of the invention is to provide an improved and simplified self sealing coupling which is of economical construction and has the advantage oi providing a true surface-to-surface contact between the abutting parts without possibility of air admission.

v The coupling, moreover, is designed and suitable for very high pressures, and despite robust construction, is easily manufactured, assembled or dismounted.

'I'he invention is partially baseduponv the fact that rubber or synthetic rubber substances can be made completely adhesive between metallic parts and that if an annulus of such material, perforate or otherwise, be interposed and made adhesive to the wall of a stationary part and the wall' of a mobile part, considerable relative resilient motion is possible between said parts without in any way aii'ecting the rubber-to-metal adhesion, springs can in many forms be eliminated or made a subsidiary feature of construction.

The invention consists in a self sealing pipe coupling comprising separable pipe terminal connection parts adapted to be coupled by an engaging threaded member and of the type wherein one part has a xed valve member co-operating mobile member or part fast use on hydraulic transv ber-tometal bonding exis 'Ihe invention further comprises forms of resilient mountings wherein the rubber or rubber like resilient parts are perforate for the passage of fluid therethrough.

Further, due to the fact that this form of coupling, thoughV subject to very high pressures, may

may tend to lose their elasticity, the invention helical springs are employed to cooperate with such resilient parts and exert resilient pressure in parallel with the rubber or rubber like material bonded members.

In many cases use may be made of the rubber sembled i part B. The upper face Reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred forms of pipe couplings according'` to W chl l is an elevation partly in section of an as coupling, without metallic springs, wherein the separate coupling parts have Just contacted and each part is sealed,

Fig. 2 is a part sectional elevation of Fig. 1 wherein the couplings have been completely connected for uuid flow,

Fig. 3 is a part sectional form oi.' Figs. l and 2,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary view in section illustrating a. modied type of sealing ring constructhe invention and in elevation of amodiied tion.

In the form illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 the self sealing coupling consists of a A and a part B. These parts are adapted to drawn into enow. Inv Fig. 1 the coupling part A comprises a metal shell body 4 inwardly ilanged at the base at 5, a valve seating 6 provided therein.

drilled at l2 -to give additional uid passage. The inset ring 8 rubber connected to valve 4stern 9 a skirt i9, said er rubber like material rin er rubber nke resinenuy banded parte te form 55 make a num tight Joint between the parte s mi -is bonded over A bears upon the mobile valve seating I8 of part B until there is a clear opening between the abutting parts A and B for heads 1 and I4, as shown parts being placed under in Fig. 2, the rubber tension -l and 'thereby resiliently loading respectively the valve 1 and.

seating I4.

In Fig. 3 an alternative form of the invention is shown in a working position for uid ow, wherein springs are employed-to maintain-the resilient effort of the rubber or rubber like material. In this form of the invention the parts-A and B are allied to those shown in Figs. 1 and 2 apart from the constructional details aiecting the provision oi the springs. The part A is modiiied in that the valve part 1 is devoid of stem and in a walled cavity 26 a ball is positioned upon which the ange 21 of a concentric tubular entity 28 bears, said tube part being adhesively connected by rubber material I8, to the tubular member 29 adapted to seat on a packing ring 30 accommodated on an inward flange 3l forming part of the body 4 ofthe part A. The tubular members 28 and 29 are, urged into position by a perforated diaphragm coupler member 32 threaded to 'part A having a central spring guide 33 between the outer side of which and the inner wall of the tube 28 is interposed a spring 34, said spring taking an abutment upon the inner tube ring ange 21 and the base of the diaphragm. In this form of part A it will be observed that the valve 1 is self aligning t0 the opposed-valve I4 and to its seating 6. The part B receptive oi part A is joined thereto by coupling sleeve I, as shown.- Part B is composite having a body part formed with an abutment 85, a threaded socket 33 within which latter is screwedan outer tubular ring 31 which is bonded to the rubber annulus I8 overl the whole of its length, the rubber or rubber material I8 however, persists beyond the outer ring and terminates with a freely mobile pressure packing lip 38. At its inner side the rubber its entire length to the mobile valve seating .skirt tube i9 carrying the valve seating I8, with a nat `ground upper face with recess as annular groove 2li for lipped seating ring 22. A supplementary reinforcing spring AllA abuts between the upper face 4I ofpart B and the underside of the mobile valve seating ilanged part I8. A steel circlet I2 may be employed embracing part B below the cramping sleeve l to limit the travel ofsleeve I.

uid flow around the valve The operation of this form oi the invention is identical to that described in Figs. 1 and 2, the fixed valve .I4 displacing the mobile valve l on coupling by sleeve I, and on uncoupling the mobile seating I8 rises to engage valve I4, whilst mobile valve 1 descends upon its ilxed seating 3. In both parts A and B the springs 84 and 40 respectively supplement with their resilience that of the rubber annuli I0 in both parts A and B.

The coupling may be made so as to self seal for pressure and vacu If high vacuum be employed the groove 2i may be slightly widened and two U sealing rings placed back to back inserted in said groove, see Figure 4.

'The wordrubber. as used in the appended claim, is intendedto cover not only natural rubber but synthetic rubber and other rubber-like materials.

I claim:

In a self-sealing pipe coupling of the type which includes a nonmobile valve centrally supported inxed position in a first conduit and cooperating with a mobile valve seating located between the first conduit and the valve, a resiliently loaded mobile valve cooperating with a nonmobile valve seating located in a second conduit, and means for connecting said conduits together; the improvement that comprises an annulus of resilient rubber located between said mobile valve seating and said first conduit, said annulus being bonded about its entire periphery to said first conduit for at least a portion of its axial length and being bonded about its entire inner periphery and for at least a portion of its axial length to said mobile valve seating, said annulus acting in shear to bias said mobile valve seating to conduit closing position in contact with said nonmobile valve and functioning to prevent uid passage between said first conduit and said mobile valve seating, and wherein the resilient loading of the mobile valve is effected by an axially pertorate annulus of resilient rubber material situate between said mobile valve and said second conduit and bonded to both.

PERCIVAL EDWARD THOMAS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the ille of this patent:

Edwards -..a Dec. 28, 1944 

